


The Discovery

by cowgirl65



Series: Be A Man [26]
Category: The Big Valley
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-12
Updated: 2012-08-12
Packaged: 2017-11-12 00:42:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/484718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cowgirl65/pseuds/cowgirl65
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dr. Merar makes an interesting discovery when treating an injured Jarrod.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own The Big Valley and make no money from this.

“Doc? Doc, come quick!”

Dr. Thomas Merar quickly shut the door on the cabinet he was restocking and hurried into the front room of his office. Nick and Heath Barkley were there, carrying their injured brother Jarrod between them.

“Bring him to the back, boys.” The physician quickly took note of the blood matting the lawyer’s hair and it looked like one leg of his trousers was soaked with blood as well. “What happened?” he asked as the two ranchers helped their brother on the examination table.

“Well, there was this fight…” Nick began reluctantly and Dr. Merar noticed the bruises and abrasions on the other two men before turning his attention to his patient. There was a handkerchief tied tightly around his left thigh, around a large gash in Jarrod’s pants that likely covered a similar gash in his leg.

“Some drifters were cheating at cards and Nick called them on it,” Heath explained as the doctor examined Jarrod’s head wound. “They took exception and Jarrod joined in when someone was gonna jump Nick from behind.”

“Mmm hmm.” A fight starting with Nick wasn’t unusual and even though Jarrod tended to stay out of that sort of altercation, he’d have been more surprised if the oldest hadn’t jumped in in defence of his brother. Dr. Merar used a damp cloth to wipe the blood off the head wound and his patient groaned. Luckily, even minor head wounds bled a lot and this one wasn’t that bad.

“Jarrod can really brawl when he gets into it.” The doctor could hear a note of admiration in Nick’s voice and shook his head slightly in amusement. “But there was this real big guy and he knocked Jarrod through Harry’s window just as the sheriff came in to break it up. His leg was bleeding bad, so we tied it and brought him right over.”

Jarrod struggled to sit up and Dr. Merar put a restraining hand on his shoulder. “Easy, Jarrod, it’ll be better if you don’t move.” He was happy to see his patient nod in understanding and lie back down; one never knew what sort of effect a head wound, even a minor one, might have. He turned to Nick and Heath. “Go on, you two. I’ll be easier to stitch him up by myself. And don’t let Sheriff Barrett just barge in here when he shows up.”

Nick looked like he was going to protest, by Heath took him by the arm and led him out of the room. Turning back to his patient, Dr. Merar was surprised that the sheriff hadn’t brought Jarrod in himself even with the other miscreants to deal with. The two men were close and the doctor had a strong suspicion they were more than just friends. He’d known more than one man who had a preference for his own sex and it wasn’t a doctor’s place to judge, not that he would have anyway. He’d known Jarrod Barkley all his life and liked and respected him regardless of who he shared his bed with.

His hands moved to the buttons of Jarrod’s trousers. “Jarrod, I’m going to remove your pants so I can tend to your leg.” He took note of Jarrod’s nod, untied the tourniquet and started to peel them off. Jarrod stiffened and Dr. Merar glanced up to see him grimace in pain. “I’ll cut them off instead, Jarrod. I don’t think they could be fixed anyway.”

“Sure, doc,” came the faint response. Dr. Merar slit the fabric from the base of the buttons all the way down the leg and pushed it out of the way. He wished he could leave a bit to preserve Jarrod’s modesty, but the wound was too high for that and, ultimately, he didn’t think Jarrod would care all that much. 

The gash was still bleeding sluggishly and Dr. Merar used a clean bandage to put some pressure on it. He would prefer the bleeding to be stopped when he stitched it up. “It’s going to hurt, Jarrod,” he advised his patient, even though he knew the lawyer would likely decline any painkillers, “if you’d like, I can give you some-” That was when he saw a wink of gold at the end of Jarrod’s male member. He almost winced himself thinking of how much it had to hurt, getting something stuck in such a sensitive area. He hoped there hadn’t been too much damage, but then the doctor relaxed when he realized there was no blood.

“Jarrod, I hate to tell you this, but there seems to be a foreign body stuck…” He decided not to alarm his patient by telling him where it was stuck; it might make him move suddenly and potentially cause more damage. The leg wound was close to the femoral artery and he certainly didn’t want whatever was stuck in Jarrod’s privates to get jammed in further.

“It’s okay, doc,” Jarrod told him, his voice still a bit weak. “You don’t need to give me anything, just do what you need to do.”

Dr. Merar figured the best way to remove the object was with his fingers; he didn’t want to accidentally damage the sensitive tissue with any sort of forceps. He grabbed the metal object and pulled quickly.

Jarrod yelped, but the object didn’t come free. Dr. Merar saw it was a ring and that the ring was firmly imbedded the end of Jarrod’s penis, not from a recent trauma at all, more likely something intentional.

“Jarrod, what the devil is that?” he demanded of his patient and saw a flush of embarrassment come over Jarrod’s face. The doctor glanced down again and thought of pictures he’d seen in books of African tribes that did similar things to other parts of their bodies, not to mention the rings that ranchers pierced through the noses of unruly bulls.

“I…” Dr. Merar could see Jarrod trying to figure out how to explain. “It was just something I wanted to do,” he said finally.

“Uh huh.” The doctor sighed and shook his head as he released the bandage to see if the bleeding had stopped and then went to the cabinet where he kept his suturing materials. “If you don’t mind my asking, why would you want to stick a piece of metal through a part of your genitals?” He came back, wiped the remaining blood off the wound and threaded the needle. “And where would you even come up with such an idea?”

Jarrod’s face was even redder. “Well, I…” He winced when the doctor pushed the needle through his skin but Dr. Merar didn’t worry about him holding still. He’d stitched up the Barkley boys enough times to know that Jarrod wouldn’t move. “Doc, do we have to talk about this?”

Dr. Merar heard the pleading in Jarrod’s voice and took pity on the injured man. “No, Jarrod, you don’t have to tell me,” he said kindly as he carefully repaired the large gash. In spite of the pain from the needle, he felt Jarrod relax. The wound would certainly leave a scar, but somehow, he didn’t think Jarrod or Sheriff Barrett would really mind. “Just professional curiosity, I suppose.” He did have an idea that the ring was related to sex and since the head of the penis was very sensitive, it must have some effect on sexual pleasure. 

He heard the sheriff’s voice from the front of the office and the fact that it made Jarrod relax even further confirmed his suspicion about their relationship. The doctor smiled to himself. He cared for all Victoria Barkley’s children and was glad to know Jarrod was happy, how ever unconventional it might be. 

Then he had a wicked idea. Jarrod wasn’t off the hook yet. As he tied off the suture, Dr. Merar asked nonchalantly, “So, Jarrod, does your mother know?’ and was barely able to contain a chuckle at the horrified expression on his patient’s face.


End file.
